Meet a CrossFit Star (and Steal Her Strength Secrets!)

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few months, you've no doubt heard of CrossFit -- perhaps you've even taken a class or seen competitions on TV (or saw SELF's exclusive workouts in our October 2011 issue!). This is a big month for the sport/gym-class hybrid: The second annual Reebok Crossfit Games, where the winners will be declared the "Fittest on Earth," take place July 13-15, while other elite competitors will face off in the WOD Gear Team Series event July 28 and 29.

Jackie Perez, 28, came in 10th in the California regional finals last month; now she’s training for the Team Series event, to held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. She and her three teammates will be up against 71 other teams (two males and two females each) for bragging rights and cash prizes, including $5,000 for first place. Perez took a break from her training this week to talk with us about her stay-fit strategies, her advice for beginners, and her favorite WOD (Workout of the Day).

You became a CrossFit enthusaist — and instructor — after years of working as a personal trainer. What got you hooked? Why was CrossFit so different?I used to spend an hour doing cardio every day and another hour doing weights and strength training, and I didn’t feel like my workout was complete unless I did both of those things. When I started taking CrossFit classes, I cut my workout time in half and still got my butt kicked harder than I ever had before.

And now you’re in a huge competition this month. What’s your training regimen like?
I do four to five days a week of WOD meta-conditioning workouts, and two days of power lifting to keep my strength numbers up. And I like to run, so I sprinkle in one or two runs a week maybe just for myself, to keep it all well-rounded.

We’ve heard a lot about CrossFit WODs — Workouts of the Day. What are they? What’s your favorite one?
When you walk into a CrossFit class, there’s a workout of the day up on the board and everyone does the same thing for the entire class. One day you might be doing sit-ups and bench presses and tomorrow you’ll run three miles. Some of the WODs are known as benchmark “girls” and are consistent across all CrossFit gyms, so you can compare your times or scores with other CrossFitters from all over.

One of my favorite benchmark girls is Fran: It’s a timed exercise, to see how long you can do 21 thrusters — a squat with a barbell — followed by 21 pull-ups, then 15 thrusters and 15 pull-ups, then nine and nine.

That’s 45 pull-ups! I can barely do one. How would I ever make it in a CrossFit class?Every exercise can be scaled to whatever fitness level you’re at. When I did my first Fran, I couldn’t do a single pull-up — my arms wouldn’t bend at all. If I had stopped that first time, I’d never be able to do 40 in a row the way I can now, but I just kept trying — every class I’d make 10 attempts, until one day it just clicked. I teach classes now with 18-year-old women and 65-year-old women. If you can’t do a pull-up, you can do modified pull-ups by hanging onto the rings with your feet on the ground.

How has nutrition played a role in your success with CrossFit?
I stick with the paleo diet, which restricts you to a certain amount of carbs, protein and fat every day. I have bacon and eggs for breakfast, a big salad with chicken for lunch and some kind of meat with lots of veggies. Snacks are nuts, seeds and fruit. I cheat a little on weekends, but every Monday it’s right back to business. I feel like it’s really helped my body work more efficiently, and has helped me see results so much faster.

This kind of seems like a macho sport. Is it really good for girls, too?
I encourage women to not be afraid to be strong. People are scared to put muscle on — they want to be skinny, and they think that lifting weights is going to make them big. But building muscle mass actually increases calorie burn, so it will make your body more efficient and can help you lose weight and stay in shape just as much as cardio can.

What advice would you give women who are thinking about trying CrossFit, but are unsure or intimidated?You don’t know what you like until you’ve tried it at least a couple of times. A lot of people want to see results right away, but if you don’t stick with something and push yourself, you’re never going to get there. You have to be willing to fail, to fall of the wagon and get right back on.

Set a goal for yourself — register for a 5K or a 10K, or enter a contest at your gym. That’s what’s great about every CrossFit class: There’s always someone there telling you what to do, and everyone is working toward the same goal and supporting each other to get there.